- US, Iranian regimes exchange more attacks as lull in war appears over
Source: Reuters
“The U.S. and Iran were back on a war footing on Wednesday after the most significant exchange of fire in weeks, with Washington threatening more devastating strikes, while Iran condemned an attack that it said killed five and wounded dozens of civilians at a wedding. The U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defenses, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites on Tuesday, with Iranian media reporting hits on multiple targets near the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway where Tehran has threatened tankers attempting to pass without authorization. Iran said it struck U.S. assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq, according to official statements. The IRGC said it killed a large number of U.S. forces in Jordan, but two U.S. officials told Reuters there had not been any casualties, according to initial assessments.” (09/02/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-iran-exchange-attacks-lull-war-appears-over-2026-09-02/
- Shutdown Theater performances canceled as Congress funds regime until December
Source: The Hill
“The House on Tuesday voted to send a short-term extension of government funding to President Trump’s desk, avoiding a politically risky shutdown before the midterm elections. The continuing resolution (CR), which funds the government through Dec. 11, passed the House on a 370-48 vote, with 19 Republicans and 29 Democrats voting in opposition. The Senate advanced the measure by a landslide last month. The CR now pushes the spending battle to before the holidays, when the outcome of the midterms will help determine how much leverage each party holds to set the spending agenda.” (09/01/26)
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/6063667-house-government-funding-cr-shutdown-midterms
- UT: Judge Lets Case Against Suspect in Charlie Kirk Killing Go to Trial
Source: New York Times
“A Utah judge found on Tuesday that prosecutors had enough evidence to try the man accused of killing the conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year and said they could seek the death penalty. The highly anticipated ruling by Judge Tony Graf was a major step in one of the country’s most scrutinized murder cases. It came nearly a year after Mr. Kirk was assassinated during an open-air speaking event attended by thousands at Utah Valley University in Orem. … [Tyler] Robinson’s lawyers have tried to delay the case with procedural fights and have questioned DNA and ballistic evidence tying Mr. Robinson to the killing on Sept. 10. But they have not offered a concrete defense, apart from arguing that Mr. Robinson should not face the death penalty.” (09/01/26)
- EU’s Kallas labels Leipzig drone attack “state-sponsored terrorism”
Source: Politico
“The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said Wednesday that the thwarted drone attack at Leipzig-Halle Airport bore ‘all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism,’ after Germany blamed Russia for the incident. Speaking as the bloc’s foreign ministers gather in Wicklow, Ireland, Kallas said Germany’s attribution sent a ‘very strong signal’ and praised EU governments for closing ranks behind Berlin. … Berlin formally blamed Moscow on Tuesday for the Aug. 4 incident, in which three explosive-laden drones were detected around Leipzig-Halle Airport. Germany announced retaliatory diplomatic measures and plans to seek fresh EU sanctions. Russia denies any involvement.” (09/02/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/kaja-kallas-labels-leipzig-drone-attack-state-sponsored-terrorism/
- MO: City councilman recalled after supporting corporate welfare for data center
Source: KMBC 9 News
“Voters in Independence have successfully recalled a councilman after his vote to approve a multibillion-dollar data center. District 1 Councilman John Perkins was recalled during a special election on Tuesday, with unofficial final results showing over 68 percent of voters in the district supported the recall. … Perkins, in March, voted to approve a proposed data center on 400 acres near Missouri 78 and Little Blue Parkway. He was one of five who voted to support the data center. … McKenna Cobb, who filed the recall petition, criticized the council’s decision to approve significant tax incentives for the project. ‘There’s hours of public testimony and they still vote in favor of billions of dollars in tax incentives,’ Cobb said.” [editor’s note: They left the corporate welfare part for the end of the story; it wasn’t just an “anti-data-center” thing – TLK] (09/01/26)
https://www.kmbc.com/article/independence-john-perkins-recall-data-center-election/73586616
- Trump vows US will take “all” of Venezuela’s oil as deal details emerge
Source: euronews [EU]
“The White House has published the terms of its Venezuela oil deal, naming the private company at its centre and confirming Washington’s majority control of more than 65 billion barrels, as President Trump vowed the US would be taking ‘all’ of it. … Venezuela’s interim authorities have granted NABEP 100-year concessions over 17 fields with the agreement signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The Venezuelan reserves dwarf America’s own, as the 65 billion barrels covered by the concessions compare with roughly 46 billion across US territory. Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, US President Donald Trump called the reserves ‘unbelievable value that was sitting dormant’ and added that the US is ‘going to be taking all of that. We’re going to be taking that oil out.'” (09/01/26)
- Whistle-Blower Says Trump Officials Are Defying Court Orders on Election-Rigging Scheme
Source: New York Times
“A U.S. Postal Service official has alleged that the agency is moving forward with a ‘secretive, rushed’ effort to implement President Trump’s order exerting federal control over mail voting, despite a court order blocking those plans. The official filed a whistle-blower report, published on Tuesday morning by the office of Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, asserting that the ‘risky and haphazard’ implementation of Mr. Trump’s order could lead to a ‘catastrophic failure’ in the mail ballot system ahead of this year’s midterm elections. The report said that the agency had planned to complete the new digital system overseeing mail ballots by Sept. 1. ‘Potentially millions of American voters may not receive their mail-in ballot this election cycle in a timely manner, or at all,’ the official said in the report, which was prepared with the assistance of Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit group that represents people seeking to expose potential lawbreaking.” (09/01/26)
- UK: Starmer will force by-election after quitting as member of parliament
Source: Politico
“Former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday he will leave the House of Commons, triggering a by-election in his central London constituency. Starmer, who quit as prime minister in July after losing the confidence of Labour MPs following a dreadful set of local election results, said it is the ‘right time’ to concentrate on new work. Starmer had told the BBC in July he would remain an MP until the next election, but told his local paper, the Camden New Journal: ‘I will now focus on other things and that will be international affairs including defense, security, trade and technology in a fast-changing world.'” (09/01/26)
- US labor market was little changed in July, with hiring and layoffs both inching lower
Source: Yahoo! News
“Job openings and hiring were nearly flat in July, according to the Labor Department’s monthly job openings and labor turnover survey, the latest sign that the labor market is stuck in ‘low hire, low fire’ mode. Some 7.3 million positions were available in July, up slightly from a revised 7.2 million in June. Hiring was also fairly steady, with 5.1 million workers finding new jobs in July, a slight decrease from 5.3 million in June as the professional business services sector shed jobs. The hiring rate was 3.2%.” (09/01/26)
- Diesel Jumps to Four-Month High With Supply Squeeze Worsening
Source: Bloomberg
“Diesel rose to the highest in more than four months after fresh attacks on refineries further tightened a market already dealing with a drop in supply due to wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
The increase in the cost of the workhorse fuel of the global economy adds to inflationary concerns amid broader pressure on the price of basic goods. ICE gasoil futures, the global diesel benchmark, climbed as much as 4.2% to their highest level since April 9. The fuel’s premium to Brent crude, known as the crack spread, remains elevated, having risen to the highest on record last month. It is also trading at an increasing premium to supplies in Asia.” (09/01/26) - New Apple CEO John Ternus takes over from Tim Cook
Source: The Hill
“Apple’s new CEO John Ternus takes the helm of the iconic tech giant on Tuesday, ending Tim Cook’s 15-year tenure during which the company’s value skyrocketed to $4.6 trillion thanks to the iPhone’s enormous popularity. The transition to a new CEO comes at a pivotal time for Apple. Artificial intelligence has unleashed the greatest upheaval within the industry since the late co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. … Although he is handing over the CEO reins at Apple, Cook is widely expected to help the company maintain a good relationship with the Trump administration after he shifts to his new role as executive chairman.” (09/01/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/6062715-apple-ceo-john-ternus-takes-reins-tim-cook-resigns/
- Bovino was under internal investigation by Border Patrol gang when he retired, newly released records show
Source: Seattle Times
“Former Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino retired while under internal investigation for his conduct during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis and Chicago, records released last week by the federal government show. In early March, an internal government watchdog contacted Bovino with an ‘official Inquiry into allegations of misconduct reported to CBP,’ emails released by Customs and Border Patrol show. … In a direct message on X, Bovino told the [Chicago] Tribune Monday he was placed under investigation ‘to CAUSE me to retire.'” (09/01/26)
- Woman killed in Times Square stabbing, suspect shot dead by police
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“A 32-year-old woman has been killed and another victim is in hospital following a double stabbing in Times Square, New York late on Monday afternoon. The suspect, a woman wielding two knives, was shot by police. All three people were taken to hospital, where the female victim and the suspect were later pronounced dead, Mayor Zohran Mamdani told a news conference. The deceased victim was later identified as Erin Piacenti, a Bank of America employee. The male victim remains in a stable condition. New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch described the attack as ‘unprovoked’ and said the stabbings took place 20 seconds apart. Citing preliminary information, Tisch said the NYPD call centre received several 911 calls at approximately 16:24 local time (21:00 BST) reporting a woman armed with two knives was stabbing people along Seventh Avenue in Times Square.” (09/01/26)
- Germany: Explosive devices damage power lines near coal plant
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Improvised explosive devices were used on Tuesday to target power lines near a coal-fired power plant in Germany, with several electricity lines damaged and supply briefly interrupted, police and a grid operator said. Several makeshift bombs were found around 8am local time at the Preilack substation, which distributes power from the nearby Jaenschwalde plant that runs on lignite and also burns rubbish, a police spokeswoman said. At least one of the devices detonated but others failed to go off, she said, adding that no one was hurt and there was no major blackout in the area, about 100km (60 miles) southeast of Berlin.” (09/01/26)
- Report: “Rich Dad Poor Dad” self-help author Robert Kiyosaki is $1.2 billion in debt
Source: New York Post
“‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ author Robert Kiyosaki — the self-help guru who has made a fortune preaching the secrets of financial success — has amassed a staggering $1.2 billion in debt tied to his sprawling real-estate investments, according to a report. The 79-year-old scribe has repeatedly touted the eye-popping figure while arguing that borrowing money to buy income-producing assets is a strategy used by the wealthy. ‘So, I’m a billion two in debt,’ he told the ‘Get Rich Education’ podcast over the summer. He added that people ‘[s]hould not do what I do, right?’ ‘But I studied it since 1974… If you’re going to learn to use debt, you’d better take some education.’ His ex-wife and business partner Kim Kiyosaki recently told Vanity Fair that the $1.2 billion figure has been widely misunderstood — and does not represent money the best-selling author personally owes.” (09/01/26)
- FL: Regime bans Flock cameras and other license plate readers from state highways
Source: NBC News
“Florida’s state transportation office on Monday revoked the ability of local police to put license plate readers on state highways, as a nationwide backlash continued to gain steam against Flock Safety and other makers of surveillance cameras. Will Watts, the chief operating officer of the Florida Department of Transportation, informed local law enforcement agencies in a one-page memo that the department was revoking all previously issued approvals for license plate readers (LPRs) in state ‘rights-of-way,’ or the strip of land that’s next to or part of a state road. Watts cited a ‘recent exponential increase’ in deployments of law enforcement cameras, as well as ‘concerning reports of misuse, data privacy concerns, and surveillance schemes’ that he said merit immediate action ‘to preserve Floridians’ sovereignty and quality of life.'” (08/31/26)
- Could Tupac verdict inspire new efforts to find killer of his rival the Notorious B.I.G.?
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The conviction of Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis in Las Vegas has brought an end to one of the world’s most famous unsolved murder cases. He was found guilty of the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, who died when the black BMW he was travelling in was sprayed with bullets in a drive-by shooting in 1996. ‘This is huge. It was a tough case. It’s a cold case,’ former prosecutor Neama Rahmani told the BBC. ‘We’re talking about the greatest rapper of all time, an icon, and not a single arrest or prosecution for 30 years.’ The conviction gives closure to Shakur’s family, and has prompted questions from observers as to what it could mean for an almost identical case – the unsolved murder of Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, also known by his legal name of Christopher Wallace.” (09/01/26)
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdx0np90lx4o#google_vignette
- Canada: Carney’s Liberals sweep three special elections
Source: ABC News
“Canada’s Liberals swept three special elections Monday in a result that showed voters backing Prime Minister Mark Carney for standing up against U.S. President Donald Trump. The Canadian Press, Canada’s national news agency, projected Liberal victories in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Quebec, Beaches-East York in Toronto and North Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia. Carney said the results amounted to an endorsement of his government’s approach. ‘At this consequential time for Canada, voters have placed their trust in our government’s plan,’ he said in a statement.” (09/01/26)
- Congo: Despite concerns from parents and teachers, schools reopen in Ebola epicenter
Source: SFGate
“A new academic year began across Congo on Tuesday despite concerns by parents and teachers that the country’s Ebola outbreak still poses risks to children in the epicenter. The resumption of classes comes in the middle of what authorities say is the fastest-growing outbreak of the disease ever, with 2,950 killed among the 6,100 cases confirmed so far since mid-May. The union representing teachers in Ituri province, the epicenter of the outbreak, had called for a delay in restarting classes, but the government pressed ahead. UNICEF said it is supporting the authorities to prevent transmissions in schools. Some schools in Ituri, especially those owned by the government, recorded low turnouts. Authorities in Ituri did not respond to a request for comment on measures to ensure a lack of transmission in classrooms.” (09/01/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/schools-resume-classes-in-congo-s-ebola-22412290.php
- FTC, states sue Amazon over alleged manipulation of advertising auctions
Source: United Press International
“A coalition of 22 states joined a Federal Trade Commission suit against Amazon alleging ‘deceptive and unfair practices,’ secretly gaming the prices advertisers ended up paying in search results auctions to appear on Amazon.com and its mobile app. The FTC, in a news release Monday, alleged that the platform ‘covertly and substantially increased’ costs for more than a million brands and sellers to advertise on its platform over a seven year period, costing them tens of billions of dollars, most of which was passed onto consumers.” (09/01/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/01/Amazon-faces-auction-rigging-lawsuit/3601788250689/
- NFL Fans Get the Fun—Taxpayers Get the Bill
Source: Independent Institute
by Alex Tokarev & Noel Tokarev“After 30 painful weeks of waiting, the NFL season is back. Once again, America gets three things it can count on: Sunday night football (pastors, avoid long sermons), Monday-morning quarterbacking, and politicians pretending to be experts in stadium economics. Chicago, Kansas City, and Buffalo offer three variations on the same old scam. Corporate fat cats who own professional sports teams demand multibillion-dollar facilities. With good friends in high places, the rich are conspiring to force the taxpayers to pick up the tab.” (09/01/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/09/01/nfl-fans-get-the-fun-taxpayers-get-the-bill/
- Flock cameras aren’t “compromise;” they’re gross overreach
Source: Bluegrass Institute
by Abigail R Hall & Patrik S Ward“When Shively Police Officer Asad Zahir was arrested for improperly using Flock Safety’s Automated License Plate Reader, it added yet another data point to the growing list of state and local police abusing surveillance technologies. … Zahir is accused of carrying out more than 2,000 unauthorized searches to monitor and target his ex-girlfriend. More than 240 of these searches occurred while Zahir had an active order of protection against him. … The response of the Shively Police Department and other local officials is even more troubling. While discussing the arrest, officials were quick to frame Zahir’s arrest as a triumph of internal oversight and as the direct result of individual malfeasance. … Without a doubt, the individuals who abuse these technologies deserve blame and should be prosecuted. But the ‘few bad apples’ defense conveniently shifts public attention away from much deeper problems.” (09/01/26)
https://www.bluegrassinstitute.org/flock-cameras-arent-compromise-theyre-gross-overreach/
- Dog Bites Man: Florida Pols Rigged an Election Using Stolen Taxpayer Money
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“In 2024, Floridians voted, by a margin of 55.9% to 44.1%, to legalize recreational marijuana. Unfortunately, the threshold for passage of ‘Amendment 3’ was 60% and the measure failed. So far so bad … but it gets worse. Nearly two years later we’ve learned that state government officials misappropriated millions of dollars in taxpayer money; funneled it through a charity founded by governor Ron DeSantis’s wife and into Republican PACs operated by the man who later became the state’s attorney general, with the approval of the then sitting attorney general, now a US Senator; and poured it into a campaign to defeat the measure. We know this because someone leaked a grand jury report on the matter to CBS News Miami.” (09/01/26)
- Why is the Chinese government dictating who speaks at a religious event in Texas?
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Sarah McLaughlin“In the United States, campus speakers, online expression, blockbuster movies, and printed books are all, of course, protected by the First Amendment. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re protected against influence and censorship by foreign powers, particularly the Chinese government. This censorship may go under the radar for many Americans, but make no mistake: It can influence not just what you encounter in the secular world, but maybe the spiritual one, too. A report this week from the National Catholic Register paints a disturbing picture: A U.S.-based Catholic organization chose to disinvite a speaker from its conference at the University of St. Thomas in Houston after facing direct pressure from Chinese officials. Apparently even the speaker lists at religious events in the U.S. cannot escape pressure from foreign officials who vest in themselves the authority to censor the world.” (09/01/26)
- The framing of Chris Duncan
Source: The Watch
by Radley Balko“In April 2025, Louisiana District Court Judge Alvin Sharp declared Duncan innocent of the crime for which he’d been convicted and sentenced to death nearly 30 years earlier. It would take another seven months before he was finally released from the Louisiana State Penitentiary, better known as Angola. … Duncan was arrested in 1993 for raping and murdering Haley Oliveaux, the 23-month-old daughter of his girlfriend. … Duncan had no history of sex offenses or abusing children. He was convicted primarily because of testimony from Steven Hayne — a now-disgraced medical examiner who performed the vast majority of autopsies in Mississippi for two decades — and his sidekick Michael West, a notorious forensics fraud best known for finding ‘bite marks’ and matching them to alleged perpetrators. Duncan is the ninth person to be exonerated after being convicted with testimony from Hayne, West, or both.” (09/01/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-framing-of-chris-duncan
- Congress Reformed Welfare. Bureaucrats Regrew It Anyway
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffery L Degner‘Voters demanded the 1996 welfare reform law that limited eligibility and emphasized work. Since then, executive agencies have used their discretion to quietly loosen those rules.” (09/01/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/congress-reformed-welfare-bureaucrats-regrew-it-anyway/
- Fears of a Canadian trade war are overblown; so far, it’s more of a skirmish
Source: Fox News Forum
by EJ Antoni“Listening to most of the media and Canada’s prime minister, you’d think the U.S. and its northern neighbor were in a full-blown trade war after new tariffs were announced days ago. Au contraire: Anyone who checks the numbers can see this is merely a skirmish. On Aug. 22, the administration’s Section 338 tariffs took effect, at 50% on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods, or about 5% of what Canada sells the U.S. Ottawa’s answer, effective Sept. 8, will be varying tariffs on roughly $20 billion of American exports to Canada, about 6% of what Canada buys from the U.S. While tariffs on $40 billion aren’t chump change, they’re a small portion of the roughly $900 billion in products and services that are exchanged across the U.S.-Canadian border annually.” (09/01/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/fears-canadian-trade-war-overblown-skirmish
- Putin and Trump refuse to accept the realities of their wars
Source: The Hill
by Harlan Ullman“Presidents do not like hearing bad news. CIA Director John Ratcliffe went to Moscow to brief Russian counterparts on the U.S. assessment of the state of the war in Ukraine. The news could not have been good. Even if Ukraine is not winning the war, its costs to Russia in blood and treasure have been extraordinary. Now, Russia’s energy infrastructure is being increasingly shut down. Suppose Russian President Vladimir Putin reversed the favor, sending Foreign Intelligence Service head Sergey Naryshkin to brief President Trump on America’s ‘excursion’ into Iran. Imagine how that would go down if Naryshkin relayed the reality? Trump would be apoplectic. … Neither Trump nor Putin respond well to negative feedback. Few presidents do.” (09/01/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/6062270-presidents-rejecting-bad-news/
- The Swastika and the Red Hat
Source: Washington Monthly
by Christoph Irmscher“Imagine you hear a speech in which a ruler, reflecting on his first months in office, boasts that he has secured the borders, imposed tariffs, purged the civil service of corruption, eliminated Marxism, and protected Christianity. You might reasonably assume it was delivered in Washington sometime in the past year. In fact, Adolf Hitler delivered it on March 23, 1933, before the newly constituted Reichstag in Berlin’s Kroll Opera House.” (09/01/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/09/01/the-swastika-and-the-red-hat/
- Reform of social media, click by click
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“The $18 billion settlement between Meta Platforms and 48 states announced last week involves a good deal of money as well as technological tweaks to limit the exposure of users under 18 years of age to 24/7 social media feeds. Supporters see it as a major step forward; critics, as the Monitor reported Thursday, say it doesn’t go far enough. Those differing responses, paradoxically, hint at an underlying confluence of viewpoints – that safeguarding the growth and development of children and teenagers is not a one-and-done deal, left to individual court cases or settlements. Rather, balancing the economic drive of private innovation against its potential excesses is a whole-of-society effort.” (08/31/26)
- What I Learned on the Open Road
Source: Persuasion
by Eboo Patel“I attended my first gay wedding in 1995. It was not on purpose. I was on a summer road trip, supported by a $500 travel grant from the University of Illinois, exploring identity-based intentional communities. Because I had so little money, the only groups I could study were the ones who offered free lodging, which generally meant pitching a tent on their lawn. The nice people at the Idyll Dandy Acres community outside of Nashville were happy to oblige. ‘We’re Radical Fairies,’ they told my friend Jeff and me. ‘Everyone is welcome here.’ The happy couple were camped next to us, two women from Britain. On the first morning, they threatened to break my acoustic guitar after I played ‘Mr. Tambourine Man’ for the fifth time. Then they invited me to their wedding. Was I really going to say no?” (09/01/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/what-i-learned-on-the-open-road
- How Trump cut antifa’s global leftist lifeline, and struck a blow for democracy
Source: New York Post
by Daniel McCarthy“Left-wing terrorism is a serious problem in the United States, though for political reasons it doesn’t receive anything like the attention right-wing violence gets. For example, when most people think of violence connected to abortion, they imagine attacks on abortion clinics — yet lately pro-abortion extremists have been firebombing crisis pregnancy centers across the country. These centers help women who want to have their babies or who are undecided about having an abortion: Women who are making a choice, just not the choice supposedly ‘pro-choice’ abortion advocates find acceptable. So a group calling itself ‘Jane’s Revenge’ (named for the ‘Jane Roe’ of Roe v. Wade) has declared war on anyone who might choose life.” (09/01/26)
- California’s New Tire Efficiency Rules Put Government in the Driver’s Seat
Source: Independent Institute
by K Lloyd Billingsley“New standards for replacement automobile tires will ‘save California drivers nearly $1 billion per year in gasoline and electricity costs, putting money back in their pockets. The standards will also reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2 million metric tons per year, equivalent to taking approximately 400,000 gasoline cars off California roads.’ That is the claim of the California Energy Commission …. The Commission seems unaware that tire manufacturers strive to deliver the best possible mileage. Unelected government commissions played no role in that process, and drivers are fully capable of selecting the tires that best meet their needs.” (09/01/26)
- Supporters Of Capitalism [sic] Are Victims Of Their Own Cognitive Biases
Source: Caitlin Johnstone
by Caitlin Johnstone“People who believe capitalism is working out great are just sloppy thinkers who’ve fallen victim to survivorship bias and the just-world fallacy. Survivorship bias is when your analysis focuses on those who made it while ignoring those who didn’t. You got a decent job, bought a house, and are now living comfortably, which means the system works fine and there must be something wrong with anyone who can’t thrive under it. All the people who work just as hard as you do but still find themselves struggling go completely missing from your perspective. All the people who are just as clever and resourceful as you but haven’t found financial stability are conveniently overlooked.” (09/01/26)
- The Pentagon-CIA Constitution-Free Zone in Cuba
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“It’s important to remind ourselves that the Pentagon’s new socialist and imperialist deal to extract oil from Venezuela isn’t the only unconstitutional overseas endeavor of the U.S. national-security state. Nor are the Pentagon’s assassinations of drug-war suspects on the high seas. Nor are the Pentagon’s undeclared wars of aggression in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and other countries. There is also Guantanamo Bay, the imperialist U.S. military base that was acquired in a strikingly in much the same way that the Pentagon is acquiring its socialist interest in Venezuelan oil — by using a puppet foreign regime to extract whatever U.S. officials want. But then there is also the blatantly unconstitutional ‘judicial’ system that the Pentagon established at Gitmo nearly 25 years ago in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.” (09/01/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/09/01/the-pentagon-cia-constitution-free-zone-in-cuba/
- CMS takes another step toward higher-value, lower-cost outpatient care
Source: Niskanen Center
by Caitlin Rowley Gallamore & Lawson Mansell“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking the next step to reduce Medicare’s unnecessary spending in high-cost hospital settings. Medicare’s payment policies have profound impacts on the supply of healthcare — where, when, and how services are provided to patients across the country. Existing payment policies disconnect the value of healthcare services from their costs. And because much of the healthcare system uses Medicare prices as a baseline for payment, the ripple effects of these distortions spread far beyond into the private market as well.” (09/01/26)
- Treading on the Market
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Ninos P Malek“On August 17, the California Energy Commission (CEC) approved the nation’s first energy-efficiency standards for replacement tires. Beginning in 2029, replacement tires sold for passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks in California will have to meet minimum standards for ‘rolling resistance’—the force that resists a tire as it rolls along the road. … The CEC estimates that under the first phase of the regulation, a set of four tires will cost consumers about $6 more while saving the average driver approximately $85 in fuel costs over the life of the tires. … Assuming those estimates are accurate, most people would probably say, ‘Sounds like a pretty good deal.’ But that raises an obvious economic question: If these tires are such a good deal for consumers, why does the government need to force people to buy them?” (09/01/26)
- Eye of the Beholder: Aesthetic Injury and the White House Ballroom
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“The Administration won a major victory before the Supreme Court this week, securing a 5-4 decision allowing the resumption of construction of the new White House ballroom. Notably, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a dissent with his three liberal colleagues to oppose the move. The case turns on the standing of challengers to bring the case. However, as a torts professor, what intrigued me was what the case says about aesthetic injuries. In torts, I teach aesthetic nuisance cases where courts tend to reject claims of injury due to eyesores and blight. Such claims are disfavored in both codes and cases: ‘Things merely disagreeable, however, which simply displease the eye or offend the taste, or shock an oversensitive or fastidious nature, no matter how irritating or unpleasant, are not nuisances’. [81 N.Y. Jur. 2d Nuisances § 17 (2014)].” (09/01/26)
- Human Rights in the Post-Pandemic Era
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Michael Tomlinson“In 2020, governments around the world panicked in response to the declaration of a pandemic and imposed drastic interventions to impede the spread of Covid-19, interventions which crushed human rights on an unprecedented scale and without sufficient justification. Yet this was widely accepted, even by human rights organisations. How could this happen? And how could we amend human rights protections to ensure that it does not happen again?” (09/01/260
https://brownstone.org/articles/human-rights-in-the-post-pandemic-era/
- The NIMBY Prisoner’s Dilemma
Source: Law & Liberty
by Michael C Munger“American infrastructure is paralyzed by local communities looking out for their short-term interests.” (09/01/26)
- Independent Thinking Can’t Be Force-Fed
Source: The Daily Economy
by Laura Williams“The new book ‘Unconventional Education and America’s Founding’ traces the pluralistic, self-led educations that prepared colonial learners to remake the world.” (09/01/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/independent-thinking-cant-be-force-fed/
- World War II, the “No Good” War
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Jim Bovard“September 1 is the anniversary of the start of World War II in Europe. On that date in 1939, Nazi Germany launched an invasion of Poland from the west and a few weeks later, the Soviet Union invaded from the east. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin signed a non-aggression pact shortly before they carved up Poland but that ceasefire didn’t last beyond June 1941. World War II has been heralded for more than fifty years as the ‘Good War’—in contrast to subsequent U.S. military debacles in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran. But World War II cannot be glorified without hiding a heap of lies and millions of corpses.” (09/01/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/world-war-ii-the-no-good-war
- The Hard-Won Lessons of Cold War Liberalism
Source: Liberalism.org
by Joshua L Cherniss“Twentieth-century liberal intellectuals stood firm against the totalizing ideologies of left and right. Their insights remain valuable today.” (08/31/26)
https://www.liberalism.org/p/the-hard-won-lessons-of-cold-war-liberalism
- How You’re Paying for All These Flock Cameras
Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen“As Donald Trump engages in the bold midterm election strategy of telling 75 percent of the country that they will be ‘backwards and poor’ if they refuse to allow substantial portions of land to be handed over to data centers, he’s one expression of transpartisan outrage behind. Anger is building just as persistently about Flock cameras, the automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) powered by artificial intelligence and the data centers that make AI run, which are used increasingly by law enforcement to surveil and track citizens, often improperly. ‘This is a deeply un-American thing that is being done,’ said Will Lawrence, the congressional candidate in Michigan who has been well ahead of the political class on identifying and acting on technology products that inflame local communities, from data centers to Flock. ” (09/01/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/09/01/how-youre-paying-for-all-these-flock-cameras/
- Pete Hegseth: Militarism’s Ideologue
Source: Antiwar.com
by Nolan Denaro“Reality doesn’t always line up with our wishes. For Pete Hegseth, this lesson has been learned the hard way. Six months into his war with Iran, top military officials are warning the Secretary of Defense that prolonged fighting would be ‘unsustainable,’ according to new reporting from The Washington Post. These officials are echoing sentiments that have been repeated for months within the administration. Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had advised the White House before the conflict that a large-scale military confrontation with Iran posed serious risks, particularly because of the U.S.’ depleted munitions stockpiles and a lack of support from regional partners. Rather than heed these warnings, Washington foreign policy elites chose to proceed with a reckless disregard for the facts, guided by an ideological drive to reshape the world in our image – or, perhaps more accurately, Israel’s.” (09/01/26)
https://original.antiwar.com/nolan_denaro/2026/08/31/pete-hegseth-militarisms-ideologue/
- What the Deportation of Milo Yiannopoulos Tells Us About the State of MAGA
Source: Mother Jones
by Anna Merlan“Before last week, Milo Yiannopoulos was one of the most noxious, divisive, and broadly unpopular far-right figures in the country, having whittled down his allies in the movement over the past decade with a combination of exuberant misogyny and bigotry, catty infighting, an infamous moment of pedophilia apologism, and increasingly pointed criticism of Donald Trump. Now, he’ll have to settle for being a broadly divisive and unpopular figure in the UK, having been swiftly and very publicly deported …. while Yiannopoulos’ deportation contains an extremely rich vein of schadenfreude—he previously called for deporting ‘millions and millions of people’ and joked about masturbating while witnessing ICE raids—it’s also indicative of how power, punishment, and influence currently work in the MAGA movement, and broader crackup within that feud-heavy world, where fragile alliances are constantly being made, broken and remade anew.” (08/31/26)
- Trump’s “golden age of science” is not just another war to be won
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Pavel Devyatkin & Denis Simon“Let’s get off the battlefield and into the laboratory — this should be one arena where great power competition can be kept in its place.” (09/01/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-china-scientific-competition/
- A Nothing Burger
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Joel Salatin“People are emailing right and left about this proposed Executive Order from President Trump giving farmers and ranchers the right to process their animals on their own properties for their consumption. Duh, that is already legal. What is NOT legal is doing this and SELLING the meat. Be assured that this whole thing has been conceived as an olive branch after the 300,000 metric ton below-market (subsidized?) tariff-free import of ground beef product (what’s with the ‘product?’) for 90 days, coinciding with the midterm elections. It’s not just about red tape. It’s about rights. Secretary Rollins doesn’t seem to understand this either.” (09/01/26)
- The “Red-Green” Distraction
Source: The American Conservative
by Jason Jones“I recently wrote about a new elite strategy of peppering us with anti-Arab, anti-Muslim propaganda ahead of the 2026 elections. Since then, we’ve also started to hear quite a lot about a sinister ‘red-green’ coalition—red for communists, green for Islamists—threatening the very existence of our republic. The propagandists making this pitch employ astonishingly broad definitions …. It should be clear to all of us, of course, that this new ‘red-green’ canard is not a native-grown, conservative defense of our constitutional order from outside enemies. On the contrary, it’s nothing less than an attempt by our ruling class to force our own coalition to dismantle itself—less than two years after we handily won the 2024 election.” (09/01/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-red-green-distraction/
- Progressive Regression and the New Medievalism
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“For most people, the story of the medieval world was one of cramped cities, constant violent crime, and episodic outbreaks of deadly plagues—the dividends of unclean urban conditions, rotting food, fouled water, open sewage, and unchecked rats, fleas, and lice. Most of each day was spent simply trying to survive until the next. Castles and walls dotted the landscape to protect kingdoms from marauding tribes and foreign invaders. City gates were usually closed at dusk to keep out nocturnal marauders. Public executions drew massive crowds. And religious schisms and conflicts often turned deadly. In other words, it was not altogether unfamiliar to the world we are becoming today. Yet meanwhile, science advanced quietly among true elites at universities, courts, and monasteries, producing windmills, mechanical clocks, and eyeglasses.” (09/01/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/09/01/progressive-regression-and-the-new-medievalism/
- Trump’s Hatred of Free Speech Is Intensifying
Source: The Atlantic
by David A Graham“Desensitization is one of Donald Trump’s most powerful tools: Through repetition, he acclimates Americans to troubling and dangerous ideas. Occasionally, though, his statements and actions are so outrageous that they can still provide a shock. The president’s hostility toward the media is familiar, but this weekend provided a clear reminder that Trump hates freedom of the press and will use any government power at his disposal to try to get rid of it.” (08/31/26)
- The Ethical Foundations of the Just War Doctrine
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Wanjiru Njoya“In the Ethics of Liberty, Murray Rothbard argued that aggressive war is always immoral and must always be opposed. The just war doctrine should be understood not as a moral toolkit that can be harnessed to justify aggressive war, but, on the contrary, as an exception to the foundational anti-war principle. This means that the just war exception should never become more important than the anti-war rule. Unfortunately, many now treat the just war doctrine as a presumption that launching war is morally upstanding so long as a ‘just cause’ can be found to rationalize it.” (09/01/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/ethical-foundations-just-war-doctrine
- Liberalism is a Habit Not a Principle
Source: Persuasion
by Joey T McFadden“On December 13, 1790, just one week after Philadelphia became the U.S. capital, President Washington wrote to several Hebrew congregations across the fledgling nation to respond to the congratulations they sent him for his inauguration as president. Washington opened the letter by invoking a word that today is almost lost to history. He praised the congregations for their ‘liberality of sentiment’ concerning religious tolerance, arguing that ‘the affection of such people is a treasure beyond the reach of calculation.’ The virtue Washington identified—’liberality’—is the progenitor of modern political liberalism. To understand why Washington held this ideal in such high regard, we must return to the ancient Romans who inspired him, and follow the history of liberality from antiquity to the present. In this ancient virtue lies the seeds of modern political liberalism—and quite possibly an antidote to the crisis of meaning that plagues liberalism today.” (08/31/26)
https://www.persuasion.community/p/liberalism-is-a-habit-not-a-principle
- Trump Is a Plague on Latin America
Source: Common Dreams
by Medea Benjamin & Nicolas JS Davies“Simon Bolivar, the great liberator of South America, famously observed, ‘The United States appear(s) to be destined by Providence to plague America with misery in the name of liberty’. For 200 years, US leaders have never proved him wrong. In the early 1800s, Bolivar led what is now Venezuela and five other countries to independence from the Spanish Empire. But the United States still refuses to recognize the independence of other countries in the region. Wannabe emperor Donald Trump even refers to Canadian prime minister Mark Carney as a ‘governor’, as if Canada was merely another US state. The US-backed despots replacing popular democratic and socialist governments across Latin America today are indeed doing so in the name of liberty, as Bolivar warned.” (09/01/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/latin-american-policy-under-trump
- A Modest Proposal for Capitol Hill
Source: Independent Institute
by Craig Eyermann“Once upon a time, New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley dispensed some memorable advice to a young correspondent seeking advice on how to become successful: ‘So many people ask me what they shall do; so few tell me what they can do. Yet this is the pivot wherein all must turn. I believe that each of us who has his place to make should go where men are wanted, and where employment is not bestowed as alms. Of course, I say to all who are in want of work, Go West!’ … What’s the modern-day equivalent? It might not be as aspirational as Greeley’s advice, but here it is: ‘Want to be a millionaire? Don’t start a business. Run for Congress!'” (08/31/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/08/31/life-coaching-politicians/
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 09/01/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“China Blows Up Trump’s Economic War on Iran.” (09/01/26)
- Free Speech Unmuted, 09/01/26
Source: Hoover Institution
“The Process Is The Punishment: ABC v. FCC With Stuart Benjamin.” (09/01/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 09/01/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“The Politics of AI Data Centers – Suddenly a Big Deal?.” (09/01/26)
- Rising, 09/01/26
Source: The Hill
‘Robby Soave delivers his radar on the president’s online defense of data centers and his warning about allowing China to surpass the U.S. in the race to lead AI development.” (09/01/26)
- Trump Watch, 09/01/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Pentagon Socialism in Venezuela.” (09/01/26)
- Law & Liberty Podcast, 09/01/26
Source: Law & Liberty
“Fusionism’s First Principles — with Stephanie Slade, hosted by James M. Patterson.” (09/01/26)
- The Bryan Hyde Show, 09/01/26
Source: The Bryan Hyde Show
“I’m joined today by Eric Peters from Eric Peters Autos for a rollicking discussion of the madness that has seized the American political class.” (09/01/16)
- Advisory Opinions, 09/01/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Has the First Amendment Ever Been More Relevant?” (09/01/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/has-the-first-amendment-ever-been-more-relevant/
- AI, Culture, and the Italian Renaissance
Source: Cobden Centre
“In this talk I [Max Rangeley] go through what we can learn from various Italian princes for the age of AI. Will we enter a new age of polymaths, science and beautiful architecture? Or will AI slop overwhelm civilization and be the final ghastly episode of modern brain rot?” (09/01/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/09/speech-in-florence-on-ai-culture-and-the-italian-renaissance/
- Jim Webb on The Kyle Anzalone Show
Source: Libertarian Institute
“The fastest way to lose a war is to start one without an end state, and that’s the thread we pull from start to finish with Jim Webb.” (08/31/26)
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 481
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Aimee Terese on Lindsay Clancy and her trial.” (08/31/26)
https://rumble.com/v7exbow-ff-481-aimee-terese-on-lindsay-clancy-and-her-trial.html?e9s
- The Kyle Anzalone Show, 09/01/26
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Trump Declares Total Economic War Against Iran! Will It Work?'” (09/01/26)
- Film, Literature and the New World Order, 09/01/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“Philip K. Dick’s The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.” (09/01/26)
https://corbettreport.com/philip-k-dicks-the-three-stigmata-of-palmer-eldritch/
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/31/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Considers Hormuz Bombing Campaign, Netanyahu Boasts of Convincing US To Launch War, and More.” (08/31/26)
- Reason Roundtable, 08/31/26
Source: Reason
“Trump Wants the FCC To Punish His Enemies.” (08/31/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/08/31/trump-wants-the-fcc-to-punish-his-enemies/
- Sal and Mark, episode 18
Source: Free Talk Live
“Vin Armani joins from Saipan, what Mark calls the freest place in America, to talk about life on this unique piece of American soil, what it actually looks like to raise a family outside the reach of the American mind virus, and his new book The Vineyard and the Vessel: Leadership at the End of the Empire. The guys also cover Florida’s new stable coin laws and the agorist workarounds, the ongoing persecution of Roman Storm and the Samurai Wallet developers by Trump’s DOJ, the Flock camera resistance movement including a journalist who got banned from Flock’s convention and set up a drone and surveillance operation outside, and the explosive discovery that a Minnesota Senator is on Flock’s payroll.” (08/31/26)
- Trump Censorship Machine Bashed in Federal Court
Source: JimBovard.com
Jim Bovard on the Trump censorship-by-deportation scheme. (08/31/26)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/08/31/video-on-trump-censorship-machine-bashed-in-federal-court/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 08/31/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“This Is Where We Are? Kidnapping Foreign Leaders & Trying To Take Their Oil.” (08/31/26)
- Rising, 08/31/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed repeatedly downplaying his association with leftist streamer Hasan Piker.” (08/31/26)
- The Brian Nichols Show, 08/31/26
Source: Lions of Liberty
“2028 Poll Shocker, Lindsay Clancy Backlash, AI Job Panic.” (08/31/26)